Diffusion Anisotropy of Gaseous Helium-3 in Ordered Aerogels at Low Temperatures

We report on the first observation of diffusion anisotropy of gaseous helium-3 entrapped in ordered aerogels at 4.2 K. The origins of ³He diffusion anisotropy in aerogels of different porosity are discussed. The correlations between gas diffusion coefficient and basic parameters of aerogels, such as porosity, fiber diameter, and fiber's degree of alignment, are inspected using simple diffusion simulations within the framework of classical diffusion model in both oriented and chaotic aerogels under conditions of diffuse (Knudsen diffusion) and specular reflections of atoms from the walls. The failure of the two-phase and Knudsen diffusion models at low temperature in isotropic and anisotropic aerogels is observed. The effect of a wall attractive potential on the gas dynamics is suspected to play a crucial role in the gas diffusion and its anisotropy. The rough theoretical estimates of that effect at low temperatures in aerogel space confirm this assumption. The observed peculiar diffusion is universal and is expected to occur with other probe gases at higher temperatures.